Riparian Buffer Preservation

1 RIPARIAN BUFFER PRESERVATION The growing body of scientific evidence documenting the beneficial role of riparian buffers in protecting water quality has led to action by conservation groups and governmental bodies to preserve existing buffers. In many cases, retaining existing buffers is the most cost effective method of protecting waterways from runoff, sediment pollution, streambank erosion and destructive flooding which are often associated with unbuffered waterways. A variety of preservation tools are available to interested communities and landowners to guide and limit development along stream corridors. These tools can be designed to fit local conditions. Among the approaches that have been used to protect existing buffers are: • Fee simple acquisition: purchase of the full ownership of riparian What are Development Rights? land by conservation groups or local governments • Conservation easements for land along riparian corridors • Fee simple land ownership • Municipal planning tools which incorporation riparian buffer provides landowners with a bundle preservation into the County Comprehensive Plan and an Official of rights. Each right, such as Municipality Map mineral rights, water rights, air rights or development rights, may • Riparian buffer ordinances be separated from the rest and • Development tools that promote conservation of riparian buffers transferred to someone else while during land development the original owner still retains ownership of the land. An overview of these methods will be discussed in this chapter in order to provide a basis for selecting buffer preservation options appropriate to a • A development right is a right to develop land, as distinguished specific locality. from the ownership of land • Development rights entitle property owners to develop land Fee Simple Acquisition of Riparian Land in accordance with local land use Fee simple acquisition, that is, gaining the full ownership of riparian land, regulations. provides the greatest amount of control over the use and maintenance of a • Ιn some jurisdictions, these property. This type of ownership is most desirable if the resources con- rights may be sold to public tained on the land are highly sensitive and protection of the resources cannot agencies or qualified non-profit be reasonably guaranteed using other approaches for conservation. organizations through the purchase Some landowners may prefer to sell their land outright through a fee simple of an agricultural conservation easement or purchase of a transaction because it eliminates concerns about landowner liability and development rights program. maintenance. Those who relinquish certain rights to their land (e.g. development rights, timber harvesting) through a conservation easement still maintain • Development rights may be long term liability and management responsibilities. sold to individuals or to a public agency through a transfer of Typically, fee simple acquisition of the land is through purchase or donation. development rights program. In this case, the buyer acquires a Alternatively, a municipality may seek to trade a parcel of land it owns that right to develop land on a site is less environmentally sensitive for privately held riparian land. Whether by that can accommodate a higher density. 2 2 purchase, donation or trading of land, the municipality or conservation group will hold the deed and have control over its use as well as be responsible for monitoring, maintenance, insurance, taxes and long term property management. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) offers funds for land acquisition projects for the purpose of preserving natural and critical habitat areas and open space through the The Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau Community Conservation Partnership Program. The funds are available to of Recreation & Conservation’s conservation groups, municipalities, nonprofit land trusts and conservancies Community Conservation to encourage the preservation of open space and natural areas either Partnerships Program through fee simple acquisition or acquisition of conservation easements. can provide communities and non-profit organizations with Lands acquired with these funds must be open to the public. the technical assistance or grant funding necessary to undertake Another option for financing the fee simple acquisition of riparian land by a conservation projects. conservation organization entails the purchase of a property that can poten- tially be subdivided. Division of the parcel and sale of the less sensitive sections could reimburse the organization for a portion of the purchase price Learn more about the Pennsylvania DCNR while maintaining ownership of the riparian area. Community Conservation Partnership Program at: Other options exist for a conservation group to impact the control of www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/grants sensitive riparian property. For example, a governmental entity may con- sider donating property that has been foreclosed because of delinquent taxes to a conservation group. Alternatively, the group may find a conservation-minded buyer for this property in order to ensure protection of the riparian buffer. These types of transactions would benefit the municipality by putting a delinquent property back onto the tax rolls and by protecting local water resources. Conservation Easements Purchasing an easement does not transfer the An alternative to buying riparian land is the purchase of the property burden of maintenance, owner’s right to use that riparian land for specific purposes through the insurance, taxes and purchase of a conservation easement. A conservation easement is a written management to the legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust and/or a local easement holder. government that permanently restricts some landowner rights to the use of a property in order to protect its conservation value. In determining the easement value, a real estate appraiser evaluates the monetary value of the economic activities foregone because of easement restrictions. For example, a riparian buffer conservation easement would pay landowners for the economic loss resulting from restrictions to timber harvest or grazing within the designated riparian corridor. A landowner may also be fully or partly compensated for the loss of development rights through the easement price. The landowner and easement holder negotiate the details of 3 the restrictions. Not only is the purchase of a conservation easement less expensive than fee simple acquisition, purchasing an easement does not transfer the burden of maintenance, insurance, taxes and management to the easement holder. Easement holders are however, responsible for enforcing the easement, taking legal action if necessary to correct violations of the easement restriction. Locating a Land Trust The Pennsylvania Land Trust Local governments can partner with land trusts in the acquisition of conser- Association (PALTA) is a state level entity representing land vation easements. This type of relationship is beneficial in that land trusts trusts. Contact them at: often have less regulatory constraints than a municipal entity. In many 707-230-8560; instances they can act more quickly, raise tax-deductible funds for purchase email: [email protected]; and purchase at above appraisal prices. Land trusts also have more experi- www.conserveland.org/landtrust ence coordinating the acquisition process. Some easement transactions offer tax benefits. A landowner who donates an easement or sells it for less than fair market value may be entitled to a federal income tax deduction. Such land must be used exclusively for conservation purposes. Another option is donation or a bargain sale of an easement by a landowner to a land trust. The easement is legally transferred, but at no cost or at a value below-market value to the easement holder. This allows the landowner to qualify for a tax-deductible charitable donation. Legal Aspects of Conservation Easements Although conservation easements have been recognized under common law in Pennsylvania for many years, the state legislature enacted the Conserva- tion and Preservation Easements Act in 2001 (Pub.L. No. 330) to give state authority to perpetual conservation and historic preservation ease- Pennsylvania allows property ments. The Act shifted the rules of legal interpretation in favor of the grant of tax assessments to be restricted easement. In other words, the burden of proof is now on the person who to the land use value imposed challenges the validity of an easement, rather than on the easement holder. by the covenant. A landowner who donates an easement or sells it for less than fair Pennsylvania has further supplemented PA Act 330 with Act 153, which market value is also gives authority to townships, cities, and boroughs to purchase conservation entitled to a federal easements for the protection of water resources, watersheds, and natural income tax deduction. resources such as floodplains and steep slopes. The act also allows municipalities to use various taxing schemes to raise funds for the acquisition of open space and agricultural land. Easements may appear more attractive to the landowner because Pennsyl- vania allows property tax assessments to be restricted to the land use value imposed by the covenant. A landowner who donates an easement or sells it for less than fair market value is also entitled to a federal income tax deduction as well as an Estate Tax subtraction (see Allegheny Land Trust “Land Conservation

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